Staying home in North Haven, CT: services, programs and support for older adults
Most older adults in North Haven who want to stay in their own home can, if the right pieces are in place: rides, meals, a little help in the house, someone watching the paperwork, and family who know the day is going normally. Here is what exists for North Haven residents, in the order most families use it.
1. The Municipal Agent for Aging and the Area Agency on Aging
North Haven Municipal Agent for Aging ((203) 239-5432) is the first local call in North Haven: every Connecticut town appoints one to tell older residents what help exists and how to get it. Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut ((203) 785-8533) is the Area Agency on Aging for North Haven. Under the Older Americans Act it arranges, free or on a donation basis, home-delivered and congregate meals, rides to medical appointments, homemaker and chore help, caregiver respite, legal assistance, and an in-home assessment of what is needed. It also runs or refers to the senior center nearest North Haven and to the state's free SHIP Medicare counselors.
2. In-home help through HUSKY Health (Medicaid)
Connecticut's Medicaid program, HUSKY Health (Medicaid), pays for help at home for people who would otherwise qualify for a nursing home, through home and community-based services waivers: personal care, homemaker help, adult day health, respite and some home modifications. Eligibility is by income, assets and level of need, and waiting lists exist in many states. The Area Agency on Aging, or the state's Aging and Disability Resource Center (same phone line), does the screening and the application.
3. Medical care at home
After a hospital or rehab stay, a doctor can order Medicare-covered home health: nursing, physical and occupational therapy, and a home health aide for a few weeks. 52 Medicare-certified home health agencies serve North Haven; you may choose any of them. For a serious illness, 17 hospices serve North Haven, almost always at home.
4. Making the house work
Grab bars, a ramp, a first-floor bathroom and better lighting prevent most of the problems that end independent living. Sources of help, roughly in the order to try them: the Area Agency on Aging's home modification or chore program; Rebuilding Together affiliates, which do free repairs for low-income homeowners; the USDA Section 504 repair grants for rural homeowners 62 and over; Connecticut's Assistive Technology Act program (find it at at3center.net), which lends devices to try before buying; and the HUSKY Health (Medicaid) waivers above. The Eldercare Locator finds anything not listed here.
5. Technology that fills the gap between visits
Family who live far away, or who work, need a way to know the day is going normally without calling three times. The options, roughly in order of cost:
- Medical alert pendants and watches (many vendors; the Area Agency on Aging can usually recommend a local one, and some HUSKY Health (Medicaid) waivers pay for one as a "personal emergency response system").
- A shared calendar and a weekly video call, which cost nothing and catch more than most devices.
- Livindi (made by the company that operates this site) is a connected-care system for an older adult living at home: a simple tablet for video calls and reminders, plus motion, door and sleep sensors that let family see, from their own phone, that the day is going normally. Family members are the ones who watch; there is no monitoring center. It is one option among several listed above, and it does not replace the Council on Aging, the ASAP or a home health agency. How it works.
- Automatic medication dispensers, available from several pharmacies and through some waivers.
Disclosure: this site is operated by Livindi, Inc. The listing above is the only place on this page where its product appears, and nothing else on this site is affected by that relationship. More.
6. When home is no longer enough
Signs that more is needed: repeated falls, weight loss, missed medications, wandering, or a caregiver who is exhausted. Start with the Area Agency on Aging's assessment, then compare 15 assisted living residences and 35 nursing homes near North Haven, using the public record on each page.